Ozone has been recognized as safe to use in food processing. Accordingly, food processing equipment suppliers have begun to supply equipment using ozone in washing various foods, for use by food processors. One such equipment supplier is BOC Gases of Murray Hill, N.J. BOC has developed a process (the SafeQuest system) which utilizes ozone in the treatment of poultry. In this system, a chilled bath is filled with ozonated water and poultry carcasses are immersed therein and transferred by conveyor means through ozonated water. The technology is based on a process called the Macron loop. A pump moves water from the chiller bath through a filter. The filtered ozonated water is then titrated with ozone gas, effectively killing any pathogens, such as E. coli 0157:H7 and salmonella and oxidizes any residual organic materials before being recycled through the process, thus saving on waste water treatment costs.
A Con Agra Company poultry processing plant also uses ozone to enable the recycling of process wash water. Once the water has been used, the water passes through a series of ozone vessels. Ozone gas is pumped into the vessels to kill any microorganisms. The system strips out any residual ozone prior to returning it to a chiller. Any residual ozone is captured and run through a catalytic destruction unit. This provides for conserving up to about 80% of recycle water, thus saving the company water, energy and waste water treatment costs.
However, the present methods for using ozonated water to wash food products are for the most part conducted in open vats or in ambient environments wherein, the amount of ozone exposure is relatively uncontrolled.
Ozonated water remains a viable method of sanitizing meat or any other perishable good. However, widespread use of ozone has been hampered by the inability to properly control the amount of ozone exposure to the meat. Ozone is a strong oxidizer and will render perishable goods, such as meat, unsuitable for consumption if the exposure time to ozone is not properly controlled.
Therefore, methods and apparatus for treating meat with ozone are in need of development. The present invention fulfills these needs.